ORCID Profile
0000-0002-9428-6198
Current Organisation
University of Parma
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Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 06-04-2023
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 02-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.NEUBIOREV.2013.12.005
Abstract: The existence of a close relationship between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular morbidity is not just a hypothesis anymore. Research on humans has been attempting to unravel the significance of this association by investigating psychological and social characteristics in relation to cardiovascular health. However, this research is limited by the difficulty to control and standardize for the in idual social history, the impossibility to apply psychosocial stress stimuli for mere experimental purposes, as well as the long time span of cardiovascular pathogenesis in humans. Animal studies controlling for social environment and adverse social episodes since weaning allow for partially overcoming these limitations. The aim of this review is to provide an up-to-date reference of the experimental evidence so far collected on the link between psychosocial factors and cardiovascular (dys-)function in rodent species, with special emphasis on social conflict, aggressiveness and negative mood states, which have been significantly associated with increased risk of cardiovascular disease.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 08-2010
DOI: 10.1016/J.PHYSBEH.2010.04.004
Abstract: Our aim was to assess the impact of motor activity and of arousing stimuli on respiratory rate in the awake rats. The study was performed in male adult Sprague-Dawley (SD, n=5) and Hooded Wistar (HW, n=5) rats instrumented for ECG telemetry. Respiratory rate was recorded using whole-body plethysmograph, with a piezoelectric sensor attached for the simultaneous assessment of motor activity. All motor activity was found to be associated with an immediate increase in respiratory rate that remained elevated for the whole duration of movement this was reflected by: i) bimodal distribution of respiratory intervals (modes for slow peak: 336+/-19 and 532+/-80 ms for HW and SD, p<0.05 modes for fast peak 128+/-6 and 132+/-7 ms for HW and SD, NS) and ii) a tight correlation between total movement time and total time of tachypnoea, with an R(2) ranging 0.96-0.99 (n=10, p<0001). The extent of motor-related tachypnoea was significantly correlated with the intensity of associated movement. Mild alerting stimuli produced stereotyped tachypnoeic responses, without affecting heart rate: tapping the chamber raised respiratory rate from 117+/-7 to 430+/-15 cpm sudden side move--from 134+/-13 to 487+/-16 cpm, and turning on lights--from 136+/-12 to 507+/-14 cpm (n=10 p<0.01 for all no inter-strain differences). We conclude that: i) sniffing is an integral part of the generalized arousal response and does not depend on the modality of sensory stimuli ii) tachypnoea is a sensitive index of arousal and iii) respiratory rate is tightly correlated with motor activity.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 17-05-2013
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 08-01-2010
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCRESAHA.109.202200
Abstract: Rationale : Insight into the function of nuclear factor (NF)-κB in the adult heart has been h ered by the embryonic lethality of constitutive NF-κB inactivation. Objective : The goal of the present study was therefore to gain insights into the role of NF-κB pathway specifically in mouse cardiomyocytes by conditional deletion of the NF-κB essential modulator (NEMO). Methods and Results : Using a Cre/loxP system, we disrupted the Nemo gene in a cardiomyocyte-specific manner in the heart, which simulated gene expression changes underlying human heart failure and caused adult-onset dilated cardiomyopathy accompanied by inflammation and apoptosis. Pressure overload challenges of NEMO-deficient young hearts precociously induced the functional decrements that develop spontaneously in older knockout animals. Moreover, oxidative stress in NEMO-deficient cardiomyocytes is a critical pathological component that can be attenuated with antioxidant diet in vivo. Conclusions : These results reveal an essential physiological role for NEMO-mediated signaling in the adult heart to maintain cardiac function in response to age-related or mechanical challenges, in part through modulation of oxidative stress.
Publisher: Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Date: 21-02-2023
DOI: 10.1186/S13030-023-00266-5
Abstract: Surgeons are exposed to high levels of intraoperative stress, which could compromise their psychological well-being in the long term. This study aimed at exploring the effects of real operations on the activity of stress response systems (i.e., cardiac autonomic function and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis) during and in the aftermath of surgery, and the moderating role of in idual psychobiological characteristics and different levels of experience (senior vs expert surgeons). Heart rate, heart rate variability, and salivary cortisol measures (as indexes of cardiac autonomic and hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis activity, respectively) were assessed during real operations and in the perioperative period in a s le of surgeons ( n = 16). Surgeons’ psychometric characteristics were collected using questionnaires. Results. Real operations triggered both cardiac autonomic and cortisol stress responses which were independent from surgeons’ level of experience. Intraoperative stress responses did not affect cardiac autonomic activity during the following night but were associated with a blunted cortisol awakening response. Moreover, senior surgeons reported higher levels of negative affectivity and depressive symptoms than expert surgeons prior to the surgery. Lastly, the magnitude of heart rate responses to surgery positively correlated with scores on negative affectivity, depression, perceived stress, and trait anxiety scales. This exploratory study allows to put forward the hypotheses that in surgeons cardiac autonomic and cortisol stress responses to real operations (i) may be associated with specific in idual psychological characteristics regardless of the level of experience, (ii) and may have a longer lasting impact on hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal axis function with potential implications for surgeons’ physical and psychological well-being.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 12-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.RESP.2014.07.003
Abstract: Respiratory patterns represent a promising physiological index for assessing emotional states in preclinical studies. Since disturbed emotional regulation may lead to forms of excessive aggressiveness, in this study we investigated the hypothesis that rats that differ largely in their level of aggressive behavior display matching alterations in respiration. Respiration was recorded in male high-aggressive (HA, n = 8) and non-aggressive (NA, n = 8) Wild-type Groningen rats using whole-body plethysmography. Subsequently, anxiety-related behaviors were evaluated in the elevated plus maze and social avoidance-approach tests. During respiratory testing, HA rats showed elevated basal respiratory rate, reduced sniffing, exaggerated tachypnoeic response to an acoustic stimulus and a larger incidence of sighs. In addition, HA rats spent less time in the open arms of the plus maze and displayed higher levels of social avoidance behavior compared to NA rats. These findings indicate that HA rats are characterized by alterations in respiratory functioning and behavior that are overall indicative of an anxiety-like phenotype.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 14-11-2014
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 17-04-2014
Publisher: Ovid Technologies (Wolters Kluwer Health)
Date: 2013
Publisher: Wiley
Date: 20-06-2019
DOI: 10.1002/SMI.2870
Abstract: Stress related to parenting a child with autism spectrum disorder can differently affect caregiver's physiological reactivity to acute stress. Here, parental stress levels, psychological characteristics, and coping strategies were assessed alongside measures of heart rate, heart rate variability, and cortisol during a psychosocial stress test in mothers of children with ASD (M-ASD, n = 15) and mothers of typically developing children (n = 15). M-ASD reported significantly higher levels of parental stress, anxiety, negative affectivity, social inhibition, and a larger preference for avoidance strategies. M-ASD showed larger heart rate and cortisol responses to the psychosocial stress test. A positive relationship was found between parental stress levels and the magnitude of the cortisol stress response in both groups. The present findings indicate exaggerated physiological reactivity to acute psychosocial stress in M-ASD and prompt further research to explore the role of in idual differences in mediating the effects of parental stress on physiological stress responses.
Publisher: Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Date: 04-07-2013
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 04-2014
DOI: 10.1016/J.PHYSBEH.2014.01.033
Abstract: In humans, there is a documented association between anxiety disorders and cardiovascular disease. Putative underlying mechanisms may include an impairment of the autonomic nervous system control of cardiac function. The primary objective of the present study was to characterize cardiac autonomic modulation and susceptibility to arrhythmias in genetic lines of rats that differ largely in their anxiety level. To reach this goal, electrocardiographic recordings were performed in high-anxiety behavior (HAB, n=10) and low-anxiety behavior (LAB, n=10) rats at rest, during stressful stimuli and under autonomic pharmacological manipulations, and analyzed by means of time- and frequency-domain indexes of heart rate variability. During resting conditions, HAB rats displayed a reduced heart rate variability, mostly in terms of lower parasympathetic (vagal) modulation compared to LAB rats. In HAB rats, this relatively low cardiac vagal control was associated with smaller heart rate responsiveness to acute stressors compared to LAB counterparts. In addition, beta-adrenergic pharmacological stimulation induced a larger incidence of ventricular tachyarrhythmias in HABs compared to LABs. At sacrifice, a moderate increase in heart-body weight ratio was observed in HAB rats. We conclude that high levels of anxiety-related behavior in rats are associated with signs of i) impaired autonomic modulation of heart rate (low vagally-mediated heart rate variability), ii) poor adaptive heart rate responsiveness to stressful stimuli, iii) increased arrhythmia susceptibility, and iv) cardiac hypertrophy. These results highlight the utility of the HAB/LAB model for investigating the mechanistic basis of the comorbidity between anxiety disorders and cardiovascular disease.
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date: 05-2012
DOI: 10.1016/J.PHYSBEH.2012.01.022
Abstract: Adverse social environments play a relevant role in the onset and progression of mood disorders. On the other hand, depression is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity. This study was aimed at (i) corroborating the validity of a rat model of depression based on a negative social episode followed by social isolation and (ii) verifying its impact on cardiac function and structure. Pair housed, wild-type Groningen rats (Rattus norvegicus) were implanted with radiotransmitters for ECG, temperature and activity recordings. They were either exposed to a social defeat episode followed by 4-week isolation or left undisturbed with their female partners. The social challenge induced a series of biological changes that are commonly taken as markers of depression in rats, including decreased body weight gain and reduced preference for sucrose consumption, functional and structural changes of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenocortical axis, increased anxiety in the elevated plus maze test. The cardiovascular alterations consisted in (i) transitory heart rate circadian rhythm alterations, (ii) lack of habituation of cardiac autonomic responsivity (tachycardia and vagal withdrawal) to an acute stressor, and (iii) moderate hypertrophy affecting the right ventricle of the heart. These results indicate that a depression-like state induced via this model of social challenge was associated with a few modest cardiovascular changes. Further studies are required to confirm the validity of this rat model of depression as a valid preclinical approach to the comprehension of the biological substrates underlying depression-cardiovascular comorbidity.
Publisher: American Physiological Society
Date: 10-2011
DOI: 10.1152/AJPREGU.00273.2011
Abstract: In humans, chronic stressors have long been recognized as potential causes for cardiac dysregulation. Despite this, the underlying mechanistic links responsible for this association are still poorly understood. The purpose of this study was to determine whether exposure to a paradigm of subchronic stress can provoke enduring changes on the heart rate of experimental rats and, if so, to reveal the autonomic and neural mechanisms that mediate these effects. The study was conducted on adult male Sprague-Dawley rats instrumented for telemetric recording of heart rate and locomotor activity. Animals were submitted to a subchronic stress protocol, consisting of a 1-h foot shock session on five consecutive days. Heart rate and locomotor activity were recorded continuously for 3 days before and for 6 days after the subchronic stress period. Subchronic foot shock produced significant and enduring reduction in heart rate both during the dark/active [Δ= −23 ± 3 beats per minute (bpm)] and light/inactive (Δ= −20 ± 3 bpm) phases of the circadian cycle, and a reduction in locomotor activity during the dark/active phase [Δ= −54 ± 6 counts per hour (cph)]. The bradycardic effect of subchronic stress was not related to a reduced locomotion. Selective sympathetic (atenolol) and vagal (methyl-scopolamine) blockades were performed to reveal which autonomic component was responsible for this effect. We found that the fall in heart rate persisted after subchronic stress in animals treated with atenolol (active phase Δ= −16 ± 3 bpm, inactive phase Δ= −19 ± 2 bpm), whereas vagal blockade with scopolamine transiently prevented this effect, suggesting that the bradycardia following subchronic stress was predominantly vagally mediated. Fluoxetine (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor) and metyrapone (inhibitor of corticosterone synthesis) treatments did not affect heart rate changes but prevented the reduction in locomotion. We conclude that subchronic stress exposure in rats reduces heart rate via a rebound in vagal activation and that this effect is serotonin- and corticosterone-independent.
Publisher: Informa UK Limited
Date: 21-12-2012
DOI: 10.3109/10253890.2011.639414
Abstract: Early life adverse experiences have long-term physiologic and behavioral effects and enhance stress sensitivity. This study examined the effects of maternal separation (MS) on cardiac stress responsivity and structure in adulthood. Male Wistar rats were separated from the dams for 3 h per day from postnatal days 2 through 15. When exposed to 5-day intermittent restraint stress (IRS) as adults, MS, and control rats showed similar acute modifications of cardiac sympathovagal balance, quantified via heart rate variability analysis. In addition, MS had no effect on cardiac pacemaker intrinsic activity (as revealed by autonomic blockade with scopolamine and atenolol) and did not affect the circadian rhythmicity of heart rate, neither before nor after IRS. However, MS differed from control rats in cardiac parasympathetic drive following IRS, which was heightened in the latter but remained unchanged in the former, both during the light and dark phases of the daily rhythm. The evaluation of adult cardiac structure indicated that stress experienced during a crucial developmental period induced only modest changes, involving cardiomyocyte hypertrophy, increased density of vascular structures, and myocardial fibrosis. The mildness of these functional-structural effects questions the validity of MS as a model for early stress-induced cardiac disease in humans.
Publisher: Frontiers Media SA
Date: 24-03-2014
No related grants have been discovered for Andrea Sgoifo.